What is the relationship between Shingles and Chicken Pox?

Shingles and chickenpox were once considered separate disorders. It is now known that they are both caused by a single virus of the herpes family known as varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Although the virus is the same; its method of infection is different in both the diseases. The medical name for chickenpox is varicella zoster and for shingles it is herpes zoster. 

Both the active varicella and zoster form of the virus can cause chicken pox. The shingles virus in its latent form is never infectious. Chicken pox is a highly contagious disease; it spreads through coughing, sneezing and even breathing. Herpes zoster spreads through the rash not through breathing or coughing. 

Shingles is not a new infection; rather, it is a second outbreak of the chicken pox virus. Some of the virus germs that cause chicken pox stay in the body, remaining inactive in the nerve cells near the spine for many years. Then the herpes zoster virus suddenly wakes up from the dormant state and grows. Once active, the germs travel along the nerve paths to the skin, leaving a path of destruction along the nerves in which they travel. The result is the pain and rash of shingles
Anyone who has had chicken pox is a prime candidate for developing its sister disease, shingles. That's because you never actually "get rid" of chicken pox once you've had it: The blisters may disappear, but remnants of the virus remain in your body for the rest of your life, waiting for an opportunity (when you're stressed or your immune system is suppressed) to reappear as shingles. Therefore, people who have AIDS also are susceptible to shingles.

Unlike chicken pox, the discomfort you experience with shingles may not go away when your blisters disappear. Indeed, almost half the people over age 60 who experience a bout of shingles develop chronic neuralgia, a lingering soft-tissue pain that results from inflamed nerve endings. Because the best medical treatment for shingles (a medicine called acylovir) works best in the disease's early stages, it's a good idea to see your doctor as soon as you suspect you have shingles

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